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player ready...Toyota Motor Corp. CEO Akio Toyoda and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday vowed to improve communication as U.S. regulators continued their scrutiny of quality breakdowns that led to a major recall of Toyota vehicles.
At a news conference held at Toyota headquarters in Japan, Toyoda pledged that the Japanese carmaker was “sharing information across regions on a more timely basis,” adding, “This is contributing to quick action.”
He also promised to improve quality assurance in all Toyota vehicles.
“I have devoted myself to advancing this effort by leading a new Special Committee for Global Quality,” he said. “It is my top priority.”
Toyoda said his company has established a North America Quality Advisory panel, chaired by former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, and has also appointed a chief quality officer for North America.
LaHood had arrived in Japan promising to deliver the world’s leading automaker a stern message that U.S. regulators will not tolerate safety violations that endanger the public.
LaHood told reporters that his delegation of transportation officials had met with Toyota executives for what he described as a frank dialogue. He applauded Toyoda for the steps the company has taken to further product safety.
“I told Mr. Toyoda today, these are very encouraging steps, but we will watch very carefully for improvements in safety and results in safety,” LaHood said.
“The proof is in the pudding. We will continue to be vigilant about the safety of drivers in America.”
Toyota recently was fined $16.4 million, the maximum allowed under U.S. law, because of a four-month delay in telling authorities about defective gas pedals that led to the recall of millions of vehicles.
LaHood said more fines would be imposed if needed.
“If a fine is required, I think everyone recognizes now that safety is our No. 1 priority, and we will do all that we can to uphold the laws in our country,” he said.
LaHood’s trip, a rare high-level meeting between a U.S. cabinet secretary and the CEO of a Japanese manufacturer over safety concerns, comes as both sides continue to feel the glare of public scrutiny. In addition to its recall problems, Toyota faces a host of political, legal and regulatory probes.
But the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also come under fire for its handling of the situation. In the last eight years, the agency closed multiple investigations involving Toyota despite thousands of complaints and allegations of several dozen deaths caused by sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
A recent investigation also found that Toyota waited nearly a year to issue a U.S. recall in 2005 over defective steering rods in trucks and SUVs, despite a similar recall in Japan and dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning.
When asked at the news conference if Toyota had purposely withheld information from the NHTSA related to the recall, Toyoda said, “We do tend to take time getting down to the cause of problems, but we have never hidden information or attempted to conceal anything since our company started.”
Toyoda evoked some laughter when he said he planned to visit the U.S. more often and to personally explain to customers what improvements are being made. He also said he planned more trips to Washington.
Referring to two tense days he spent addressing members of Congress on Capitol Hill in late February, he said, “Please don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean I’m asking for another invitation to another hearing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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